Global law firm

Abstract wavy black line pattern on a white background.

Role
Creative Director
Experience strategist

Year
2021 - 2023

URL
Visit the website

Fun fact
Inspiration was found in a coffee shop

It all started with a bold idea—what if a global law firm didn’t just redesign its website, but redefined what a law firm experience could be? With the Ascend Pitch team leading the charge, we challenged tradition, inspired imagination, and won the work by proving this wouldn’t be just another law firm website.

Pitch it

Smartphone screen displaying a webpage about creating an intelligent workplace, with a photo of a diverse group of people working at a conference table with laptops.
Mobile phone screen displaying a career app with a welcome message to Sylvie, a photo of a smiling woman with curly brown hair, and details of her interview with Ilana Eisenstein at DLA Piper.

Determined to be not another law firm, a global legal powerhouse set out to reimagine its digital presence.

Experience strategy

A professional profile page of a woman named Rachel, with the pronouns she/her. The page indicates she is a prospective client in Oakland, California, with a digital IQ of Mastery. The page documents her experience today and her expected experience tomorrow, focusing on LinkedIn profiles and DLA Piper pages, with some comments about engagement, awareness, conversion, retention, and referral. The left side of the page shows her smiling face wearing glasses.
A modern office lobby with people walking and sitting, featuring glass walls, wood ceiling, and decorative lines on the floor.
A professional profile chart for Rachel, a prospective client in Oakland, California, detailing her needs, interactions, capabilities, and how DLA Piper's services can assist her through different stages of engagement.

The firm needed to consolidate multiple microsites, blogs, and regional websites into a unified platform that could serve clients, recruits, and alumni with personalized, accessible, and modern experiences. Their existing digital ecosystem lacked cohesion, scalability, and the ability to deliver tailored content based on user behavior and geography.

Challenges

Creative Visioning: Delivered a lookbook with three distinct creative directions—“The Vanguard,” “The Counselor,” and “Volume”—to help stakeholders visualize the future experience and align on tone, style, and functionality.

Persona Development: Created seven detailed personas and future-state user journeys to represent prospective clients, recruits, alumni, and existing clients across global markets.

Experience Strategy: Conducted 36 interviews and analyzed 150+ brand experiences to inform a creative brief, MVP strategy, and prioritized backlog.

Component System Design: Designed a modular system of 50+ components using atomic design principles to support scalable, flexible content creation.

Platform Architecture: Defined a modern, headless Sitecore architecture hosted on Azure, integrated with tools like Coveo, Demandbase, and Google Analytics.

Roadmap Definition: Delivered a multi-stage implementation roadmap aligned with business priorities and stakeholder input.

Solution

A detailed digital design layout showing logos, photography examples, color palette, links, and sections for a website or presentation interface, with a focus on branding, content visuals, and data visualizations.

Enhanced Efficiency: Consolidated multiple digital properties into a unified, headless Sitecore platform, streamlining content management and reducing operational complexity.

Improved Personalization: Delivered tailored experiences based on user behavior, region, and role, increasing relevance and engagement across client, recruit, and alumni audiences.

Accelerated Decision-Making: Defined a clear MVP strategy and roadmap, enabling stakeholders to prioritize features and investments with confidence.

Elevated Brand Experience: Introduced a bold, modern design system with 50+ modular components, mood boards, and atomic design principles to differentiate the firm in a competitive market.

Comprehensive Insights: Developed seven detailed personas and future-state journeys, providing a deep understanding of user needs and guiding content, design, and technical decisions.

Outcomes